http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championshi ... /cork.html
It would be easy to say that they're only coming round now because they realise no one gives a shite so they want to start talking. But I don't believe in abusing someone after they back down to do the right thing. I just think it's great that somethings finally starting to happen down there.
GPA and Cork Hurlers
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TheManFromFerbane
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Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
The night is darkest before the dawn
Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
I think it’s interesting the way this dispute has become a stand off between McCarthy and the players with the county board avoiding any form of managing the dispute until the last few weeks. There are a observations I have with regard to this dispute:
1) A problem carried forward: The resolution of the last conflict left two players on the selection committee. This was a ridiculous scenario in a 7 man group. Any manager who was elected to the position without the support of the players lobby would be deemed to have “lost the dressing room” before he had even started. At the time this was decided it seemed like an absurd solution and it has come to pass. I blame both sides (players and county board) on this as it was a typical Irish solution to an Irish problem.
2) The actual appointment of McCarthy: I followed it in the Examiner and in The Sunday Times (Denis Walsh is pretty close to the story) and any reasonable person looking at how the county board went about their business would really question their competence. You had a manager that EVERYBODY down there in an informed position within the GAA knew had lost the dressing room. You have been down the Teddy Holland debacle less than 12 months previously. You insist in appointing McCarthy without interviewing any other potential candidates knowing that the player delegation opposes him. That was score settling … no two ways about it. It really appears to be an appointment against the players rather than in favor of the best candidate. It was only ever going to blow up one way!
3) Unpopular as it is to say but hurling Needs Cork: Like it or not far too few counties play hurling at a competitive level. In the Cody era in KK they have been the only team to consistently challenge KK. This year they probably gave KK their best game in the Championship pulling contributing in pulling 71,000 people to the All Ireland Semi. The game is dying through Kilkennys dominance. Look at Leinster this year. 9,000 people at Offaly KK, 31,000 at the Leinster final (with a football game). If this continues into the All Ireland series attendances will continue downward at all games bar the final. We need competitive games to sell our sport on TV.
4) The Cork Dispute is driving player militancy within the organisation: If I was a Cork player based on what I see I think that I too would have it up to my oxters and would be saying “no more”. The down side of this militancy is that it is spreading throughout the GAA. As Tom Humphries put it in a column before Christmas “The Cork county board is damaging our association”. I strongly believe that both the Waterford and the Wexford players stands would not have happened if it were not for the Cork situation encouraging the militant agenda. It’s not the GPA that created the situation but it creates a need for a representative body like this. The ultimate finishing point of a united player’s representative body could be semi professionalism in some form. The GAA needs to ensure that players and county boards do not let these disputes develop to this extent and if they do then a county team should be suspended at all levels and from all codes for the year ahead.
5) The players are generally unpopular within the media: There tends to be an attitude of disliking the Cork players on account of their national profile. They are the ones that go out into the national media and will defend their position and explain where they are coming from. Not all of them would be to my liking but at least they will go out and state where they are coming from. Frank Murphy or any of the other county board officials will not do the same so we tend not to be drawn towards critisising them because nobody is really sure who or where they are. I have seen Donal Og on a few occasions defend what they are doing live in national media and while he’s not my favorite hurler he at least will defend his position and explain it. If people are going to be critical of him for that the least they should do is expect the PRO of the county board to come out and equally defend the format of the appointment.
This whole dispute saddens me as its does nothing but bring our association into disrepute and creates a national media circus. I cannot see this solved this year and certainly can’t see Cork hurling in the league with a team of any standard.
PS: Is Frank Murphy a salaried employee of the county board or an elected offical. If its a salaried position and somebody has 20 years under their belt than thans an expensive forced change to make.
1) A problem carried forward: The resolution of the last conflict left two players on the selection committee. This was a ridiculous scenario in a 7 man group. Any manager who was elected to the position without the support of the players lobby would be deemed to have “lost the dressing room” before he had even started. At the time this was decided it seemed like an absurd solution and it has come to pass. I blame both sides (players and county board) on this as it was a typical Irish solution to an Irish problem.
2) The actual appointment of McCarthy: I followed it in the Examiner and in The Sunday Times (Denis Walsh is pretty close to the story) and any reasonable person looking at how the county board went about their business would really question their competence. You had a manager that EVERYBODY down there in an informed position within the GAA knew had lost the dressing room. You have been down the Teddy Holland debacle less than 12 months previously. You insist in appointing McCarthy without interviewing any other potential candidates knowing that the player delegation opposes him. That was score settling … no two ways about it. It really appears to be an appointment against the players rather than in favor of the best candidate. It was only ever going to blow up one way!
3) Unpopular as it is to say but hurling Needs Cork: Like it or not far too few counties play hurling at a competitive level. In the Cody era in KK they have been the only team to consistently challenge KK. This year they probably gave KK their best game in the Championship pulling contributing in pulling 71,000 people to the All Ireland Semi. The game is dying through Kilkennys dominance. Look at Leinster this year. 9,000 people at Offaly KK, 31,000 at the Leinster final (with a football game). If this continues into the All Ireland series attendances will continue downward at all games bar the final. We need competitive games to sell our sport on TV.
4) The Cork Dispute is driving player militancy within the organisation: If I was a Cork player based on what I see I think that I too would have it up to my oxters and would be saying “no more”. The down side of this militancy is that it is spreading throughout the GAA. As Tom Humphries put it in a column before Christmas “The Cork county board is damaging our association”. I strongly believe that both the Waterford and the Wexford players stands would not have happened if it were not for the Cork situation encouraging the militant agenda. It’s not the GPA that created the situation but it creates a need for a representative body like this. The ultimate finishing point of a united player’s representative body could be semi professionalism in some form. The GAA needs to ensure that players and county boards do not let these disputes develop to this extent and if they do then a county team should be suspended at all levels and from all codes for the year ahead.
5) The players are generally unpopular within the media: There tends to be an attitude of disliking the Cork players on account of their national profile. They are the ones that go out into the national media and will defend their position and explain where they are coming from. Not all of them would be to my liking but at least they will go out and state where they are coming from. Frank Murphy or any of the other county board officials will not do the same so we tend not to be drawn towards critisising them because nobody is really sure who or where they are. I have seen Donal Og on a few occasions defend what they are doing live in national media and while he’s not my favorite hurler he at least will defend his position and explain it. If people are going to be critical of him for that the least they should do is expect the PRO of the county board to come out and equally defend the format of the appointment.
This whole dispute saddens me as its does nothing but bring our association into disrepute and creates a national media circus. I cannot see this solved this year and certainly can’t see Cork hurling in the league with a team of any standard.
PS: Is Frank Murphy a salaried employee of the county board or an elected offical. If its a salaried position and somebody has 20 years under their belt than thans an expensive forced change to make.
Efan 
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bracknaghboy
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Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
I'll simplify things.
If you are from Cork (or any other county) and you have been asked into your county panel you have two options.
Option 1: Accept it and be grateful to wear your county colours (something I would have loved to do).....what a honour.
Option 2: Decline the offer for whatever reason......work, family, no interest or don't like management etc etc.
Sean Og, Donal Og, Rock and so on went for Option 2. Thats their right to say no. End of story.......nobody has died and there will be plenty of lads wiling to take their place. When the GPA were threatening strikes before the NHL and NFL 2 years ago Bracknaghboy declared himself available for both codes and there would plenty like me that would have taken to the pitch
If you are from Cork (or any other county) and you have been asked into your county panel you have two options.
Option 1: Accept it and be grateful to wear your county colours (something I would have loved to do).....what a honour.
Option 2: Decline the offer for whatever reason......work, family, no interest or don't like management etc etc.
Sean Og, Donal Og, Rock and so on went for Option 2. Thats their right to say no. End of story.......nobody has died and there will be plenty of lads wiling to take their place. When the GPA were threatening strikes before the NHL and NFL 2 years ago Bracknaghboy declared himself available for both codes and there would plenty like me that would have taken to the pitch
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bracknaghboy
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Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
Well done Ger McCarthy! He has stood up to the Cork bullyboys and is pushing on with his new panel. I personally hope we have seen the last of Sean Og, Donal Og, Rock and the O'Connors etc. Great hurlers in their day but their conduct of late means they have no place in the GAA anymore. They are no longer relevant.
Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
Donal O’Grady article from todays Examiner ........................
No man bigger than Cork hurling
BARACK OBAMA was installed on Tuesday as president of the USA, swept into power on a mandate for change — change that was sorely needed, according to the US electorate.
Those winds of change haven’t blown into Cork hurling circles. The more things change outside, the more they seem to stay the same around Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
I don’t want to go back over old ground but a review is necessary to give some background to this impasse, where team manager Gerald McCarthy will not step aside and the 2008 panel, the bulk of whom would be needed for the 2009 campaign, want to play for Cork but refuse to play for Gerald.
The players contend that they informed the County Board executive members well in advance of the manager’s appointment that they did not want to work under Gerald McCarthy for 2009-10.
By forcing through this appointment in a democratically flawed process the board placed Gerald McCarthy in a most difficult position — exactly the same as the unfortunate Teddy Holland last year.
If people selecting a manager/leader are requested not to appoint a particular person by the group who will be led by that person, it is ludicrous to expect that same group to respond in a positive manner if that particular person is appointed – particularly if they have had experience of that person’s leadership for the previous two years.
Frank Murphy, as leader of the Cork County Board Executive, will have been well aware of this. If the sole agenda of the committee was to appoint a manager to win the All Ireland, it’s clear that the manager would have to have the respect of the players to get the necessary response.
Clearly on this occasion, the agenda of the County Board Executive members sitting on the selection committee to appoint the manager did not match up with this, and only Gerald McCarthy, in their minds, was considered. However, as the players had flagged their unwillingness to work with McCarthy, then no matter how highly the county board members rated him, he should not have been considered for the position.
Similarly, if the players’ representatives put forward a name not acceptable to the county board side, that person should not be considered either.
No meaningful negotiations had been arranged by the Cork County Board Executive since the dispute erupted, and there was no real leadership on their part — appointing an independent chairman to a flawed process was never going to work. This was simply window dressing.
I said at the time that the dispute arose that the players should have approached things differently, by seeking to improve coaching and training matters from within by working with Gerald McCarthy rather than opting out.
Unfortunately so much has been said since then of a negative nature that the dispute has deepened and become very bitter.
I thought initially that a compromise might have been possible, but unfortunately I now believe the exact opposite. So what of the future?
Realistically, the panel of players who did battle against WIT in the Waterford Crystal Trophy — though giving of their best — have no chance in any serious competition.
It is difficult to see them developing to the extent that they will restore Cork’s fortunes with All Ireland victories. If there is no resolution, Cork now face some ten years or more in the hurling wilderness without senior success, particularly as there has been no recent minor or Under 21 success to build on.
The Cork fans will feel short-changed if the development panel is used in major competitions and if the likes of Seán Óg Ó hÁilpín, the two O’Connors and Tom Kenny do not play again for the county. Those fans will vote with their feet and stay away from the major games.
The statement that no man is bigger than Cork hurling has been bandied about of late, but maybe it’s time for certain individuals in leadership positions to look at their role in this impasse, to reassess their positions, to look to the future and maybe make some unpalatable decisions, as leaders must do in any crisis — and this is a crisis.
The hope for Cork is that some resolution can be found and all Cork hurling folk can sing from the same hymn sheet on their hopeful journey to Mecca in September.
No man bigger than Cork hurling
BARACK OBAMA was installed on Tuesday as president of the USA, swept into power on a mandate for change — change that was sorely needed, according to the US electorate.
Those winds of change haven’t blown into Cork hurling circles. The more things change outside, the more they seem to stay the same around Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
I don’t want to go back over old ground but a review is necessary to give some background to this impasse, where team manager Gerald McCarthy will not step aside and the 2008 panel, the bulk of whom would be needed for the 2009 campaign, want to play for Cork but refuse to play for Gerald.
The players contend that they informed the County Board executive members well in advance of the manager’s appointment that they did not want to work under Gerald McCarthy for 2009-10.
By forcing through this appointment in a democratically flawed process the board placed Gerald McCarthy in a most difficult position — exactly the same as the unfortunate Teddy Holland last year.
If people selecting a manager/leader are requested not to appoint a particular person by the group who will be led by that person, it is ludicrous to expect that same group to respond in a positive manner if that particular person is appointed – particularly if they have had experience of that person’s leadership for the previous two years.
Frank Murphy, as leader of the Cork County Board Executive, will have been well aware of this. If the sole agenda of the committee was to appoint a manager to win the All Ireland, it’s clear that the manager would have to have the respect of the players to get the necessary response.
Clearly on this occasion, the agenda of the County Board Executive members sitting on the selection committee to appoint the manager did not match up with this, and only Gerald McCarthy, in their minds, was considered. However, as the players had flagged their unwillingness to work with McCarthy, then no matter how highly the county board members rated him, he should not have been considered for the position.
Similarly, if the players’ representatives put forward a name not acceptable to the county board side, that person should not be considered either.
No meaningful negotiations had been arranged by the Cork County Board Executive since the dispute erupted, and there was no real leadership on their part — appointing an independent chairman to a flawed process was never going to work. This was simply window dressing.
I said at the time that the dispute arose that the players should have approached things differently, by seeking to improve coaching and training matters from within by working with Gerald McCarthy rather than opting out.
Unfortunately so much has been said since then of a negative nature that the dispute has deepened and become very bitter.
I thought initially that a compromise might have been possible, but unfortunately I now believe the exact opposite. So what of the future?
Realistically, the panel of players who did battle against WIT in the Waterford Crystal Trophy — though giving of their best — have no chance in any serious competition.
It is difficult to see them developing to the extent that they will restore Cork’s fortunes with All Ireland victories. If there is no resolution, Cork now face some ten years or more in the hurling wilderness without senior success, particularly as there has been no recent minor or Under 21 success to build on.
The Cork fans will feel short-changed if the development panel is used in major competitions and if the likes of Seán Óg Ó hÁilpín, the two O’Connors and Tom Kenny do not play again for the county. Those fans will vote with their feet and stay away from the major games.
The statement that no man is bigger than Cork hurling has been bandied about of late, but maybe it’s time for certain individuals in leadership positions to look at their role in this impasse, to reassess their positions, to look to the future and maybe make some unpalatable decisions, as leaders must do in any crisis — and this is a crisis.
The hope for Cork is that some resolution can be found and all Cork hurling folk can sing from the same hymn sheet on their hopeful journey to Mecca in September.
Efan
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TheManFromFerbane
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Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
Can someone tell me how Frank Murphy is appointed?
The night is darkest before the dawn
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Lone Shark
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Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
I know I keep saying it, but for me, MFF has summed up the circle that cannot be squared. Either Frank Murphy is democratically appointed, or he's not - either way, there are the appropriate channels to remove him, should there be sufficient will within the Cork county board to do so. The comeback to this always seems to be one of two approaches:
(1) He has too much control over things like All Ireland tickets and will punish dissenters - to which I say that if access to All Ireland tickets is enough of a motivation to allow any delegate to continue to keep schtum in the face of what he/she believes to be a genuinely malevolent influence, then they are pathetic. They should just resign their position and let someone else do it.
(2) He has built up a lot of support among existing delegates and it's so hard to get these long standing career "ofeeshals" out of the road. To this I say that it's back to the same problems - there are a load of people within the GAA who wish that things were done differently, but when it comes to going to the AGM, getting on to committees, putting in the spadework and standing up for it, they always have an excuse. Now I say this as someone who didn't make it to my club AGM last month due to personal circumstances and wouldn't be in a position to go on to a committee right now anyway, but if Ferbane then went out and agreed to take a big name manager on for equally big wages, then I wouldn't be in a position to complain. What appears to me to be happening is that people in Cork are complaining that the Wig is immovable, yet I don't see any attempts to move him going on.
As for the current situation, I won't lie - I was delighted to see Ger McCarthy take the stance that he did, however I do appreciate that the players probably have some legitimate grievances here. As was pointed out above, two players on a seven man selectoral committee reeks of tokenism and should have been seen as a ticking time bomb when it was signed up, however I find it just too hard to forgive their tendency to go to the media first every time, or indeed their personalisation of what has become a very symbolic issue. Secondly, I shudder to think of the consequences if the GAA in any of it's outlets was to concede the principle of some individuals being more important than others. Seán Óg and his troop are good hurlers and if we don't see them taking part this year then it's a pity, however we can't go conceding important principles just so that the right big names fill the Cork jersey. He was asked if he wanted to be part of the setup, it's up to him to accept or decline - and that's all that there should be to it.
(1) He has too much control over things like All Ireland tickets and will punish dissenters - to which I say that if access to All Ireland tickets is enough of a motivation to allow any delegate to continue to keep schtum in the face of what he/she believes to be a genuinely malevolent influence, then they are pathetic. They should just resign their position and let someone else do it.
(2) He has built up a lot of support among existing delegates and it's so hard to get these long standing career "ofeeshals" out of the road. To this I say that it's back to the same problems - there are a load of people within the GAA who wish that things were done differently, but when it comes to going to the AGM, getting on to committees, putting in the spadework and standing up for it, they always have an excuse. Now I say this as someone who didn't make it to my club AGM last month due to personal circumstances and wouldn't be in a position to go on to a committee right now anyway, but if Ferbane then went out and agreed to take a big name manager on for equally big wages, then I wouldn't be in a position to complain. What appears to me to be happening is that people in Cork are complaining that the Wig is immovable, yet I don't see any attempts to move him going on.
As for the current situation, I won't lie - I was delighted to see Ger McCarthy take the stance that he did, however I do appreciate that the players probably have some legitimate grievances here. As was pointed out above, two players on a seven man selectoral committee reeks of tokenism and should have been seen as a ticking time bomb when it was signed up, however I find it just too hard to forgive their tendency to go to the media first every time, or indeed their personalisation of what has become a very symbolic issue. Secondly, I shudder to think of the consequences if the GAA in any of it's outlets was to concede the principle of some individuals being more important than others. Seán Óg and his troop are good hurlers and if we don't see them taking part this year then it's a pity, however we can't go conceding important principles just so that the right big names fill the Cork jersey. He was asked if he wanted to be part of the setup, it's up to him to accept or decline - and that's all that there should be to it.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.
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Silken Thomas
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Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
Whatever your inclination it's clear that the whole debacle is one sordid mess. God love Cork because this could really linger.
The controversy seems to have split anyone with an interest into three factions.
1)Those who are against the County Board and Frank Murphy.
2)Those who are against the players.
3)Those who are against Gerald McCarthy.
Personally, there has been wrong on all sides
The County Board in appointing a manager against the wishes of the players.
The players for refusing to play for a democratically elected manager.
Gerald McCarthy for taking charge of a team where he knew personally he wasn't respected and in some cases not wanted.
However there are all sorts of sub plots;
Gerald McCarthy's business which depends on the County Board.
Frank Murphy's controversial and combatitive approach.
The players failure to accept any responsibility for on-field losses.
For me there is no bottom line, winners or easy solutions.
The clubs of County Cork must wait to vote out people who they believe are not doing their job properly.
While initially favouring the County Board and Gertald McCarthy I'm not sure of my position on the topic anymore.
Either way this will really hurt Cork G.A.A.
The controversy seems to have split anyone with an interest into three factions.
1)Those who are against the County Board and Frank Murphy.
2)Those who are against the players.
3)Those who are against Gerald McCarthy.
Personally, there has been wrong on all sides
The County Board in appointing a manager against the wishes of the players.
The players for refusing to play for a democratically elected manager.
Gerald McCarthy for taking charge of a team where he knew personally he wasn't respected and in some cases not wanted.
However there are all sorts of sub plots;
Gerald McCarthy's business which depends on the County Board.
Frank Murphy's controversial and combatitive approach.
The players failure to accept any responsibility for on-field losses.
For me there is no bottom line, winners or easy solutions.
The clubs of County Cork must wait to vote out people who they believe are not doing their job properly.
While initially favouring the County Board and Gertald McCarthy I'm not sure of my position on the topic anymore.
Either way this will really hurt Cork G.A.A.
The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.
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joe bloggs
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Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
I believe thw GPA are renewing meberships for 09 squads at the moment. I wonder who did they send the papers to in Cork?
'if your not part of the solution, your part of the problem' J. McClean
Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
I see this went back up to the top of the news agenda this morning. At this stage people have their opinion as to whether they agree or disagree with the county board, players or managers positions so I won’t go into that.
I was more interested in hearing in how you think the players presented themselves from a media perspective last night? At this stage the Development Squad will play the NHL and I suppose for lads don’t line out but still have to live in the county its important to them how they are perceived. That as much as anything would have been driving them last night. Is the media battle tipped back in their favor?
I think it unlikely that even if the clubs do agreed with the players that they will really set about a change agenda down there (Jaysus I sound like Barrack) so the stalemate will continue.
I was more interested in hearing in how you think the players presented themselves from a media perspective last night? At this stage the Development Squad will play the NHL and I suppose for lads don’t line out but still have to live in the county its important to them how they are perceived. That as much as anything would have been driving them last night. Is the media battle tipped back in their favor?
I think it unlikely that even if the clubs do agreed with the players that they will really set about a change agenda down there (Jaysus I sound like Barrack) so the stalemate will continue.
Efan
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TheManFromFerbane
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Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
Well, what are everyone's thoughts on how it panned out?
I suppose when the clubs turned against the county board it was a sign that the game was up. There are obviously issues down there that are of great concern to the clubs and that vote proved it. More so the high number of abstainers and deferals also probably tells a tale.
I still believe McCarthy was rigth. He was democratically elected to do his job and he did it to the best of his ability, he turned out to be a bit of a pawn in the overall game and as always they are always the first ones to go. I suppose he didn't really help himself with some of his comments but if we are to believe the stress he was under then I suppose it's understandable. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/fro ... 66233.html
I'm still not "for the players" I don't think it was in their remit to go and do what they did but then again they would probably see it as it was something they felt they had to do and they got their justification after that club vote.
If, as it looks, all of this stems from Frank Murphy well then I hope this is it and he can be finally removed and Cork can get back to concentrating on the sport and the association as a whole. If they don't get him out then I don't really think anything has been achieved. They just managed to remove a stubborn thorn but the briar is still there ready to prick them again.
I suppose when the clubs turned against the county board it was a sign that the game was up. There are obviously issues down there that are of great concern to the clubs and that vote proved it. More so the high number of abstainers and deferals also probably tells a tale.
I still believe McCarthy was rigth. He was democratically elected to do his job and he did it to the best of his ability, he turned out to be a bit of a pawn in the overall game and as always they are always the first ones to go. I suppose he didn't really help himself with some of his comments but if we are to believe the stress he was under then I suppose it's understandable. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/fro ... 66233.html
I'm still not "for the players" I don't think it was in their remit to go and do what they did but then again they would probably see it as it was something they felt they had to do and they got their justification after that club vote.
If, as it looks, all of this stems from Frank Murphy well then I hope this is it and he can be finally removed and Cork can get back to concentrating on the sport and the association as a whole. If they don't get him out then I don't really think anything has been achieved. They just managed to remove a stubborn thorn but the briar is still there ready to prick them again.
The night is darkest before the dawn
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Lone Shark
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Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
I would have been very much on the side of McCarthy all along with this, however the fact that the recent vote taken by the clubs weighed in so heavily in favour of the players colours my view somewhat - while I do appreciate that they took some ill-advised choices along the way, the decision to seek the support of the clubs in the county seemed fair enough and it did reinforce the notion that they had the majority of the goodwill from average club members.
However this whole sorry situation poses another big issue for Cork - how did it come about that the clubs can so vehemently want one thing, while the county board can be so entrenched in insisting on the opposite? Surely the county board is there to run the affairs of the county as per the wishes of those they represent? After all, every county board executive member is a member of a club somewhere, begging the question of why that club didn't try to get him to represent their views? I understand that it's not representative politics per se, but I can't imagine any of their Offaly counterparts taking such a stance.
Is it perhaps time for Cork to look at their overall structure? It can't be easy to administer a county with so many clubs and there is no doubt but several of those clubs probably feel that they're lost in the middle of it all.
One final note - Gerald McCarthy referred to death threats that he or members of his family received. I can't imagine what possesses lads to do something like that over hurling, but one would hope that the guards will step in and make a full investigation - nobody should get away with something like that.
However this whole sorry situation poses another big issue for Cork - how did it come about that the clubs can so vehemently want one thing, while the county board can be so entrenched in insisting on the opposite? Surely the county board is there to run the affairs of the county as per the wishes of those they represent? After all, every county board executive member is a member of a club somewhere, begging the question of why that club didn't try to get him to represent their views? I understand that it's not representative politics per se, but I can't imagine any of their Offaly counterparts taking such a stance.
Is it perhaps time for Cork to look at their overall structure? It can't be easy to administer a county with so many clubs and there is no doubt but several of those clubs probably feel that they're lost in the middle of it all.
One final note - Gerald McCarthy referred to death threats that he or members of his family received. I can't imagine what possesses lads to do something like that over hurling, but one would hope that the guards will step in and make a full investigation - nobody should get away with something like that.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.
Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
I'll give Humphries the last work on this .... it was never between McCarthy and the players ...
WE’RE GETTING to the end of an era in Cork. You can feel the smell of change in the air in a way that is irrevocable and unstoppable. Sometimes events just run away to a conclusion which those who engineer these things can never envisage.
Krusty, Sideshow Bob and the boys with the Acme Run The Board kit are the archetypal cartoon figures who have run out over the edge of the precipice but have kept running simply because they have refused to look down.
This past week will have caused them to glance downwards to see the nothingness beneath their feet. Club after club have expressed dissatisfaction at the way the affairs of Cork GAA have been run. From virtually everywhere within the People’s Republic by the Lee there have been upsurges of support for the players.
The wind has been changing for some time. The Rule 42 business in Cork left a bad taste in many mouths and made sure that the enemies were piled high in the long grass. The county board got led this winter right into the long grass.
What a tide in the affairs of Cork. For Croke Park to do what they recently did, to feel the need to offer to run the key affairs of the Cork County Board is commentary enough on the sorry state of things.
For ten to twelve thousand people to take to the streets on a cold Saturday afternoon. For one of the greatest hurling teams of our age to be training away alone twice a week while a regiment of spotty imposters fill their jersey. For clubs to hold a series of extraordinary general meetings in order to get their hands back on the levers of their own democracy. For so many of those meetings to throw up the results they have.
For men and women to march together yesterday in the snow and the sleet singing “we’re not shoppers anymore” in witty riposte to the dismissal of their last march as just a lot of people getting their Saturday messages.
Something has been rotten in the state of Cork GAA for a long time. Three Stripes. The various shaftings of Billy Morgan. Rule 42. Three strikes in a few years. That one of the premier franchises in GAA culture has been allowed to fall into such disrepair is a scandal which Croke Park are just waking up to.
You just have to walk around the crumbling edifice which is Páirc Uí Chaoimh to have it suggest itself to you as a metaphor for all that has passed.
A year ago the confederacy of dunces must have been telling themselves that night is darkest just before the dawn. The Mulvey agreement looked like a put-down for the suits and administrators. In the bunker, though, they figured out that the deal could be refashioned – if you lacked the goodwill to do anything more useful with it – into a skewer upon which your enemies could be impaled like olives on a cocktail stick.
The “process” which inserted Gerald McCarthy once again into a relationship which had broken down last summer was thus the instrument of revenge. It should have worked more effectively. A smarter confederacy would have used a different instrument than Gerald McCarthy. Somebody whom the players would resent but not go into uproar against.
But the humiliation of certain key players had to be complete and visible. It had to be the sort of appointment which gave rise to high fives and smirks down in the bunker. So they rammed Gerald back into the post and said like it or leave it boys.
It was a blunt instrument poorly wielded. Frank Murphy’s weapon of choice in the political skirmishings he has survived and triumphed in down the decades has been the rule book and the lengthy speech. Used by an expert, the rule book has a stiletto’s frightening facility for penetration. The blade doesn’t slash or slice. It just brings a crushing finality to its victims.
Post Mulvey, the agreement itself which seemed like a breakthrough for the players was picked up and looked at in the cold light of day. What is an agreement but a set of rules. What is a set of rules but a weapon to be wielded by the one who masters them most comprehensively.
It was a high-stakes gamble which depended on there being as much fatigue among the general public as there would be among the players. Old dogs generally find new tricks problematic, however. Whatever little the board had learned in the Teddy Holland dispute the players had learned more.
This time the players went with the old rope-a-dope trick invented by the Machiavelli of boxing, Muhammad Ali. They lay on the ropes quietly and let the abuse and contumely rain down on them. If the dispute had to run to the spring so be it. The board and Gerald McCarthy blew themselves out. The leaking of facilitators’ documents, personal attacks on several beloved players and an ever more shrill insistence that younger members of the Cork panel were straining at the leash to break ranks all backfired.
The new Cork panel, an unfortunate bunch of tyros willing to be cast in the role of blacklegs, fell into the habit of taking regular beatings which were neither colossal enough to provoke outrage or narrow enough to inspire hope. Instead of getting their big break they became irrelevant.
And in-fighting the rearguard action the rule book was pulled from the scabbard again. No more votes. In the interest of democracy there will be less democracy. This past week in Cork, though, democracy has burst from the grassroots as triumphantly and energetically as a geyser leaving the land and reaching for the sky. It is as unstoppable as a force of nature. The rule book has been turned against those who used it as both weapon and shield all these years. The players need only wait now for the light brigade from the clubs to restore Cork GAA to a welcome place of sanity and daylight.
And the vinegar pusses of the politburo will be with us no more. Liam Óg Shakespeare of Avon might have commented that ‘’tis the sport to have the engineer hoist with his own petard’. We prefer to reach this morning however for the lines of the bard of Los Angeles, Tom Waits, Small Change got rained on with his own thirty-eight.
WE’RE GETTING to the end of an era in Cork. You can feel the smell of change in the air in a way that is irrevocable and unstoppable. Sometimes events just run away to a conclusion which those who engineer these things can never envisage.
Krusty, Sideshow Bob and the boys with the Acme Run The Board kit are the archetypal cartoon figures who have run out over the edge of the precipice but have kept running simply because they have refused to look down.
This past week will have caused them to glance downwards to see the nothingness beneath their feet. Club after club have expressed dissatisfaction at the way the affairs of Cork GAA have been run. From virtually everywhere within the People’s Republic by the Lee there have been upsurges of support for the players.
The wind has been changing for some time. The Rule 42 business in Cork left a bad taste in many mouths and made sure that the enemies were piled high in the long grass. The county board got led this winter right into the long grass.
What a tide in the affairs of Cork. For Croke Park to do what they recently did, to feel the need to offer to run the key affairs of the Cork County Board is commentary enough on the sorry state of things.
For ten to twelve thousand people to take to the streets on a cold Saturday afternoon. For one of the greatest hurling teams of our age to be training away alone twice a week while a regiment of spotty imposters fill their jersey. For clubs to hold a series of extraordinary general meetings in order to get their hands back on the levers of their own democracy. For so many of those meetings to throw up the results they have.
For men and women to march together yesterday in the snow and the sleet singing “we’re not shoppers anymore” in witty riposte to the dismissal of their last march as just a lot of people getting their Saturday messages.
Something has been rotten in the state of Cork GAA for a long time. Three Stripes. The various shaftings of Billy Morgan. Rule 42. Three strikes in a few years. That one of the premier franchises in GAA culture has been allowed to fall into such disrepair is a scandal which Croke Park are just waking up to.
You just have to walk around the crumbling edifice which is Páirc Uí Chaoimh to have it suggest itself to you as a metaphor for all that has passed.
A year ago the confederacy of dunces must have been telling themselves that night is darkest just before the dawn. The Mulvey agreement looked like a put-down for the suits and administrators. In the bunker, though, they figured out that the deal could be refashioned – if you lacked the goodwill to do anything more useful with it – into a skewer upon which your enemies could be impaled like olives on a cocktail stick.
The “process” which inserted Gerald McCarthy once again into a relationship which had broken down last summer was thus the instrument of revenge. It should have worked more effectively. A smarter confederacy would have used a different instrument than Gerald McCarthy. Somebody whom the players would resent but not go into uproar against.
But the humiliation of certain key players had to be complete and visible. It had to be the sort of appointment which gave rise to high fives and smirks down in the bunker. So they rammed Gerald back into the post and said like it or leave it boys.
It was a blunt instrument poorly wielded. Frank Murphy’s weapon of choice in the political skirmishings he has survived and triumphed in down the decades has been the rule book and the lengthy speech. Used by an expert, the rule book has a stiletto’s frightening facility for penetration. The blade doesn’t slash or slice. It just brings a crushing finality to its victims.
Post Mulvey, the agreement itself which seemed like a breakthrough for the players was picked up and looked at in the cold light of day. What is an agreement but a set of rules. What is a set of rules but a weapon to be wielded by the one who masters them most comprehensively.
It was a high-stakes gamble which depended on there being as much fatigue among the general public as there would be among the players. Old dogs generally find new tricks problematic, however. Whatever little the board had learned in the Teddy Holland dispute the players had learned more.
This time the players went with the old rope-a-dope trick invented by the Machiavelli of boxing, Muhammad Ali. They lay on the ropes quietly and let the abuse and contumely rain down on them. If the dispute had to run to the spring so be it. The board and Gerald McCarthy blew themselves out. The leaking of facilitators’ documents, personal attacks on several beloved players and an ever more shrill insistence that younger members of the Cork panel were straining at the leash to break ranks all backfired.
The new Cork panel, an unfortunate bunch of tyros willing to be cast in the role of blacklegs, fell into the habit of taking regular beatings which were neither colossal enough to provoke outrage or narrow enough to inspire hope. Instead of getting their big break they became irrelevant.
And in-fighting the rearguard action the rule book was pulled from the scabbard again. No more votes. In the interest of democracy there will be less democracy. This past week in Cork, though, democracy has burst from the grassroots as triumphantly and energetically as a geyser leaving the land and reaching for the sky. It is as unstoppable as a force of nature. The rule book has been turned against those who used it as both weapon and shield all these years. The players need only wait now for the light brigade from the clubs to restore Cork GAA to a welcome place of sanity and daylight.
And the vinegar pusses of the politburo will be with us no more. Liam Óg Shakespeare of Avon might have commented that ‘’tis the sport to have the engineer hoist with his own petard’. We prefer to reach this morning however for the lines of the bard of Los Angeles, Tom Waits, Small Change got rained on with his own thirty-eight.
Efan
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Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
I believe if any of the members of the Cork CB have any honour they should resign. They have lost the support of the clubs and they should let those same clubs now come up with a new board.
'if your not part of the solution, your part of the problem' J. McClean
Re: GPA and Cork Hurlers
Below is the statement released by Gerald McCarthy announcing his resignation as Cork senior hurling manager.Gerald McCarthy statement taken from the Times
I have decided to step down as manager of the Cork Senior Hurling Team, effective immediately.
I am not, as some would have it, resigning ‘for the good of Cork hurling’. In fact, and without being presumptuous, I would regard my resignation in the current circumstances as being detrimental to Cork hurling in the long term.
I am quite confident that after two overwhelming endorsements, a third vote would not have removed me at county board level. However, only my resignation, apparently, will allow the best group of Cork hurlers to take the field.
While the latter objective is very desirable, that outcome should not be confused with the future health of Cork hurling or its direction in the coming years.
A few days ago, my father who is in his mid-eighties, pleaded with me to step down after one of my sons, in my absence abroad, received the latest threat against me. The threat against my life which has been referred to the Gardai, is the latest in a sequence of threats and abuse, random or organised I do not know, which I and my family members have had to endure over the past few months.
Given the kind of vitriol at recent public meetings and indeed in some media commentary, it is hardly surprising that thugs have attached themselves to the “cause” of the 2008 hurlers. I cannot continue to expect a family even as supportive as mine to withstand that pressure and possibly to put their own safety at risk.
This latest threat is one of two tipping points that have occurred in recent weeks. The apparent advice to the players that they should not attend my mother’s funeral has devastated my father and family.
It reflects a lack of human warmth that we will never understand. The fact that the advice was ignored by some of the panel was deeply appreciated by us and those players who attended the removal or the funeral will testify to the welcome they received from my father, from me and the rest of the McCarthy family.
It’s been a long and difficult four months. With any willingness on the part of the players, the dispute could have been resolved almost as soon as it began. The Mulvey arbitration provided for certain steps to be followed in the event of any dispute arising. These precluded a strike by the players and allowed for discussions, mediation and arbitration to take place. The players went on strike, refused to meet the Board or the management team together and refused to engage in mediation.
There is huge irony in the thought that the clubs who are now supporting the players were among those who voted for mediation at the County Convention last December – which the players refused to engage in. They are now supporting those players who rejected their specific direction.
I am well aware that players will always garner popular and media support when positioned against a management team or the County Board. However, I am surprised that the media, with a few honourable exceptions, never challenged the players’ views. I am also surprised that journalists who never met me or spoke to me could write so authoritatively about my position and my motivation.
The criticism of the County Board has been well over the top. For any faults it has and what organisation does not, the County Board has presided over a level of success that most counties in the country would envy.
The players’ modus operandi has been simple: strike, issue ultimatums, refuse to speak and raise the temperature by carefully choreographed public events. No amount of these can disguise the fundamental truth, however. No dispute was ever resolved in the absence of dialogue.
Even our critics have acknowledged that the Board and Gerald McCarthy were open to compromise and changes in direction for the sake of Cork hurling by taking on the Duffy/Cooney document. The players were not. Neither would they meet under Olan Kelleher or other offered auspices. All the calls for a resolution excluded any responsibility on the players’ part.
My reasons for taking the stand I did four months ago are as valid today as they were then. Hurlers should not have the right to appoint their own manager, veto the appointment of a manager, interview their own manager or pursue commercial interests at the expense of the broader GAA family. Self interest and the evolving pay for play agenda are the primary motivating factors for the leaders of the dispute. How those clubs now supporting the players are not uneasy about the sabotaging by the players of a sponsorship (again through a strike threat) which would have added €450,000 for investment in facilities in the county, is well and truly beyond me.
The dispute leaders have won “the power” which they publicly declared they wanted. The broader elements of their agenda will presumably now be pursued with the same singlemindedness. I wonder will they be proven in time to be the heroic figures they are being made out to be in some quarters. From my perspective, they have dishonoured the Cork jersey and used it as a weapon and a threat. I believe that for the majority of previous Cork All Ireland winners and we did have some before the 08 Panel arrived on the scene, that is the ultimate sporting abuse.
The a la carte loyalty of the 08 Panel to the Cork jersey contrasts utterly with the attitude of the current Cork players. These young men in the face of the difficulties put before them- and they were considerable and unacceptable - know more about courage, integrity and decency than the high profile leaders of the dispute and their equivalent strike leadership of the football panel. My greatest disappointment is to have to leave them and the selectorial and backroom team who have been outstanding, honourable, steadfast and at all times motivated by the highest of values.
If you don’t stand for something you fall for anything